STARS & BARS MUSIC FESTIVAL HEATHCOTE

The part country music festival, part mystery bus tour returning to Heathcote in April

Off the back of its trail-blazing inaugural outing in 2022, Stars & Bars Festival returns to Heathcote in 2023.

Bringing together a combination of amazingly talented artists, Heathcote’s finest wine, beer, spirits, food and hospitality, and some genuinely unique locales as the backdrop for this experiential festival event, Stars & Bars Festival will see punters take part in an experimental whistle-stop tour of Heathcote on Saturday, April 22 2023.

Created by Lincon Boyd, the brains behind the beloved past NaranaFest, this year’s newly minted edition returns with some fresh new locales, familiar favourites and a stellar handpicked lineup representing everything from alt-country, Americana, heavy groove, funk & soul, to blues & roots and electric jungle boogaloo.

Essentially a hybrid of a country music festival, food and wine festival and regional bus tour, this year there are two ticket options up for grabs.

The first is the luxury bus tour, which will showcase all eight acts across five beautiful locales over 12 hours with complimentary wine-tasting sessions, afternoon tea and access to the evening session. Bus tour tickets are limited, and they go for $100.

For those that can’t spend the whole day, there’s a secondary option to join the Festival at Palling Bros Brewery in the Beer Garden from 6pm where you’ll witness four of the acts. Evening tickets are just $40 with limited tickets available at the door.

The Locales

The unique central Victorian Goldfields locales are at the heart of Stars & Bars. Much more than just pubs, breweries and wineries, these locales are hand-picked, immersive spaces with stories to tell.

The adventure begins with a visit to the 150-year-old pub Tooborac Hotel & Brewery. A country hotel circa 1857 with an onsite brewery, this charming spot is Victoria’s oldest National Trust-listed country pub - renowned for being family-friendly with a warm and inviting atmosphere.

Next is a visit to boutique winery Domaine Asmara, located in the heart of the rich Cambrian region of Heathcote in Victoria. This little gem is a family-owned vineyard producing complex and flavoursome wines.

Arriving for afternoon tea, punters will indulge in the surroundings at the five-star boutique winery Wren Estate in the shadow of Mt Camel. With a beautiful olive grove and new cellar door, Wren Estate’s wines are produced in small batches from the home block and micro-managed by Michael Wren, who has over 20 vintages experience across Australia, Europe and the US.

Located just minutes from Heathcote on Wild Duck Creek, Condie Estate is a small-batch producer owned by Richie & Rosanne Condie. Their fruit is organically grown in two vineyards and the wines are made by hand.

The final destination on this whistle-stop tour, is Palling Bros Brewery and its newly expanded Beer Garden, delivering the perfect backdrop for the climactic Evening Session. Located in the heart of the central Goldfields, this stunning tin-shed establishment specialises in handcrafted artisan beer, fine dining, and fittingly, live music.

The Artists

As you taste and explore along the countrified musical bus tour, you’ll also get to enjoy the live country, blues and folks music from some of Victoria’s biggest and brightest stars:

Karl S. Williams

Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, visual artist and poet, Karl S. Williams is an artist you never saw coming. Bringing along his trademark solo set, frequently referred to as a visceral and ‘spiritual experience’, Williams promises to leave his audience slightly altered in the best way possible. With his heart on his sleeve, this is blues, roots, folk and Americana, but not as you know it.

The Seven Ups

Back from headlining last year’s event, The Seven Ups are guaranteed to get the dancefloor moving. Hailing from the northern suburbs of Melbourne, the original seven-piece lo-fi heavy groove party band skillfully blend influences from 1970s underground funk with jazz, psych and fuzz rock.